Detailed Characterization and Zoning of Landfills to Reduce Their Environmental Impact in Armenia

The research aims to develop methodologies for the detailed characterization and spatial zoning of landfills as a means of assessing their environmental impact. The principal objective is to establish an integrated framework for evaluating landfill conditions through multisource data analysis, encompassing remote sensing, field investigations, and geochemical analyses. The proposed framework incorporates several critical components: satellite and UAV-based remote sensing, multispectral vegetation assessment, geochemical soil profiling, temporal and functional zoning, and morphodynamic evaluation. Research findings indicate substantial environmental pollution in the vicinity of landfill sites, at levels that exceed the natural self-purification capacity of surrounding ecosystems. This encompasses the contamination of all principal environmental components, including groundwater, surface water, soil, vegetation, and atmosphere. The key findings demonstrate that only a comprehensive environmental impact analysis, conducted in conjunction with detailed landfill zoning, yields a thorough understanding of the associated adverse effects. Remote sensing methodologies are shown to play a pivotal role in data acquisition and ongoing monitoring. The practical contribution of this study lies in the development of methodological frameworks for detailed landfill zoning, environmental impact assessment, monitoring, damage mitigation measures, and waste management optimisation. The results obtained have the potential to improve waste management systems, inform the development of effective monitoring protocols, and underpin strategies aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of landfills. Overall, this research advances scientific and technical knowledge in the field of waste management and contributes towards efforts to mitigate environmental impact—a matter of persistent concern given rising rates of waste generation and the increasingly constrained availability of suitable landfill capacity.